Read Hell or High Water for Free Online Page B

blouse and lightweight black linen blazer. The word drab came to mind. Her only jewelry, the Saint Jude medallion, rested hidden above her breasts.
    “I’m not sure we should go to this funeral,” Holly protested.  
    “I have to. Stop making me feel guilty for dragging you along with me.”  
    “Like Tyrell said, where you go, I go.”  
    “And I appreciate you. Really. But you shouldn’t have to be my private taxi. After the funeral, I need to stop by the police station. I’ll call Tomas. Ask if he can drive me.”
    Holly dug her car keys out of her ten-gallon purse and shook them at Kay. “Get in.”
    Kay almost laughed at her friend, because secretly Holly was probably getting a kick out of being the boss. “Tyrell should call you Little Mama, not me.”  
    “Thanks, but I’d rather he called me to bed.”
    Normally, Kay would’ve laughed at the innocent blue eyes behind such a sexual innuendo. Would she ever find anything funny again?  
    “If you want him, do something about it.”
    “No need to get pissy. You want us to fall in love. I’m only interested in his body.”
    “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I should never meddle in affairs of the heart.” Kay didn’t want to argue. Romance seemed like a really inappropriate topic today.
    Her skin prickled suddenly. No doubt about it this time. Somebody’s eyes were trained on her, giving her the weird sensation of being naked. Kay did another visual sweep of the parking lot. Nothing. Damn. Between Tyrell and Holly, Kay was jumping at shadows.  
    She’d reassessed her situation over the weekend. Admittedly, she’d been careless at the morgue. Since then, she’d been on high alert.
    Kay had barely buckled her seat belt when her cell buzzed. Einstein’s picture on the tiny screen smiled up at her.  
    “Hey, Papa. I hoped I’d hear from you today.”
    “Morning, Kaycie. You visit your folks this weekend?” His tone gave no hint of his ruling on Leann’s death.  
    “I didn’t. Ran out of time.” She hated to lie to him. She didn’t tell him about almost being kidnapped in the morgue parking lot. He would only worry himself sick.
    “I think if you’d make the first move, your dad will come around.”
    He wanted the riff repaired between Kay and her dad, Papa’s son. It was one she didn’t know how to fix short of bringing her twin brother, Kevin, back to life. This conversation was repetitive and futile.  
    “Apparently, you worked too.” She moved off the subject. “The body was released yesterday afternoon. Her funeral’s at ten this morning.”  
    “You were in a hurry for answers. I got everything I needed from the girl. Saw no need to make the family wait.”
    She leaned back in the seat. The quickening of her heartbeat thumped under the medallion while she waited for the news.  
    He continued, “Preliminary lab results confirmed your young woman had traces of ketamine in her system. Not something she’d be given by her doctor and not a drug we’d normally have tested for. I wouldn’t have looked if you hadn’t doubted that she’d committed suicide. Therefore, my ruling is homicide.”
    The stomach acid churning in her stomach rose to the back of her throat.
    “It’s of no comfort, but she didn’t realize what was happening. Someone slashed her wrist after the drug was administered.”  
    Kay’s throat clamped shut. The ugliness and the horror of the crime flooded her with guilt and anger. “Oh, God. She was just a kid.”
    “I’ve informed the appropriate parties of my finding. Her case is with the Dallas Homicide Unit.”
    She shifted the elephant sitting on her chest to the side. “Thank you for working all weekend. I know exactly who killed her. After I prove it, the state of Texas will stick a needle in his arm for murder.”  
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” he barked out the admonition. “This girl was murdered. Step back and let the police earn their keep.”  
    His words sounded harsh and